Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro falls in bathroom, hospitalised: Report

In a recent mishap, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was rushed to the hospital after he took a fall and hit his head at his residence in Brasilia on December 23. The right-wing leader underwent a CT scan at Armed Forces Hospital, which did not detect any changes, and will remain under observation for 6 to 12 hours, the president’s office confirmed.

Recently, Bolsonaro said that he might be suffering from possible skin cancer but his office denied saying there is no sign that Bolsonaro has cancer. The Brazilian presidential office further added that Bolsonaro had visited a hospital in Brasilia but was in good health.

Last year, Bolsonaro was attacked with a knife while campaigning for presidential elections and suffered serious injuries. The 64-year-old underwent several surgeries to recover from the wounds inflicted in the attack and his health has been a constant subject of concern since then.

Read: Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro Slams Corruption Probe Into Son With Homophobic Outburst

Bolsonaro's position amid Amazon fire

Bolsonaro has been facing severe criticism for his handling of Amazon fires and rampant deforestation of the rainforest. Deforestation in the Amazon rainforest has surpassed 10,000 square kilometres within a year, the highest in more than a decade.

As per the data generated by the Satellite Legal Amazon Deforestation Monitoring Project (PRODES), the total deforestation, between August 2017 and July 2018, in the world's largest rainforest was at 7,033 square kilometres. 

Read: Brazil President Bolsonaro Says He Has Possible Skin Cancer, His Office Denies

Bolsonaro, however, found support from US President Donald Trump when the latter praised the former for his efforts. The US President said that Bolsonaro was working very hard to control the fires and in all respects doing a great job for the people of Brazil.

“He and his country have the full and complete support of the USA!” Trump had said. Brazilian President had welcomed Trump’s support saying the “fake news campaign” building up against Brazil’s sovereignty will not work. He said that the government was fighting the wildfires with great success and that the “US can always count on Brazil”.

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Read: Leonardo DiCaprio Denies Brazilian President's Accusation Over Amazon Fires

(With inputs from agencies)